October 2011
His and her diary from the same day
by Volker Weber
Her Diary:
Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn't say much. I asked him what was wrong; He said, 'Nothing.' I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn't upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving. I can't explain his behavior I don't know why he didn't say, 'I love you, too.' When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.
His Diary:
Motorcycle won’t start ... can't figure out why
Nokia Lumia 800 in Deutschland ohne Mix Radio
by Volker Weber
Am Freitag habe ich bei Nokia nachgefragt. Heute kam die Antwort:
Entertainment gibt es über Nokia Music und Microsoft Zune. Nur Mix Radio wird in Deutschland nicht verfügbar sein. In jedem Land geht es darum die nötigen digitalen Rechte zu sichern. Natürlich bleiben wir in Deutschland dazu mit allen Interessengruppen in der Musikbranche im Gespräch.
Riecht nach GEMA.
Siri Dictation
by Volker Weber
Three generations. And they are all good.
by Volker Weber
Stephen Fry on Steve Jobs
by Volker Weber
The use of that last phrase, "style over substance" has always been, as Oscar Wilde observed, a marvellous and instant indicator of a fool.
Lumia 800 and N9 are similar, but they don't use the same screen estate
by Volker Weber
The N9 user interface does not need any front buttons. Everything happens while you swipe the screen.
Buy two PlayBooks, get one free
by Volker Weber
From now until Dec. 31, 2011, BlackBerry business customers will receive one free BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with every two purchased from an authorized Valued Added Reseller.1
I don't think that is going to help RIM move any inventory.
Future vision
by Volker Weber
It's just as nice as I expected it to be
by Volker Weber
This is the first desirable Windows Phone. I have always liked the software, but never the devices. Poor design, awful cameras. But Nokia gets it right. The beatiful body of the N9, combined with Windows Phone 7 Mango. And Nokia Drive, and MusicMix. And a great camera. People will want this. I want this. I have seen people walking away with one at Nokia World. People more important than I am.
Nokia announced their new strategy in February. And now they deliver in November. Not only one, but actually two phones. Quite impressive. Can you imagine what they are working on now?
Things that work and do not work out very well
by Volker Weber
There are so many things on my mind that I don't want to post in a string of entries here on vowe.net. So I am making a list, in no particular order:
- When I was in Palo Alto, I bought a LunaTik. I love it. With long sleeves, I just run the wire of my headset down to the iPod. That's sort of an invisible iPod.
- The iPhone 4S camera is just wonderful. Have not done any video yet, but even nightshots turn out beautifully.
- Siri does not get me. Or I don't get Siri. It's sort of like the Newton trying to understand my cursive writing. Dictation works, but I don't know what I want to say, unless I can see what I type.
- The Nokia N9 is nicer than the new Lumia 800. But the Lumia is going to be a lot more useful. It's already there today: MusicMix is Last.fm without user accounts plus offline use.
- Nokia will sell a ton of Lumia 800s. The N9 is going to be a collector's item. There are a couple of things to tell them apart. The 800 has a dedicated camera button. You don't need to wake and unlock it. It's going right there. The flash is inline with the silver strip right in the center line of the back, on the N9 it's above the camera lens on the left side of the back. The 800 does not have the front facing camera, which the N9 does not have any software for. That's a tie.
- I continue to love the Nokia BH-905i headset for long travels. There is no match. At least I have not found one.
- NFC is in it's infancy. If you tap a Bold 9900 and any Nokia handset nothing happens. Same is true for the Nexus.
- I read about 10% of Isaacson's Jobs biography. So far it has been boring.
- If you go to a Nokia event, bring an old school notebook with Ethernet port. Everything else fails. Make sure your battery is charged. I should really have brought the PlayBook. That would have worked with the BlackBerry. Which despite the October outage continues to be my mainstay while abroad.
- Speaking of the PlayBook, RIM isn't going to ship Tablet OS 2.0 until next February. What a stinker.
Nokia Lumia 800 coming next week
by Volker Weber
I should have a Nokia Lumia 800 next week for a real life test. So far I have only played with it in the Nokia World exhibition.
Hardware very similar to N9. Beautiful, very nice to hold in your hand. Plus: camera key launches camera from locked state. Minus: no front facing camera. I like Windows Phone. And it's very fast on this beast.
PlayBook 2.0 delayed until next year
by Volker Weber
We expect to deliver the new BlackBerry PlayBook OS to customers in February 2012
No wonder, I could not get an answer at BB Devcon. Very disappointing.
Erfahrungen aus einem Jahr iPad-Einsatz bei SAP
by Volker Weber
Die Killerapplikation auf dem Blackberry war und ist E-Mail. Auf Tablets sind es Reporting und Dashboards - wobei die Informationstiefe je nach Zielgruppe gestaffelt ist. Weil mit der Bildschirmgröße und der Interaktivität die Attraktivität zugenommen hat, nehmen der Zugang und die Inanspruchnahme von Informationen stark zu.
How does the iPhone 4S camera stack-up against other cameras?
by Volker Weber
A photo comparisons from all iPhone version cameras (First generation iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, the new iPhone 4S), a point & shoot camera, the Canon S95 ($500), and a professional dSLR, the Canon 5DMKII ($4000+) in two situations:1. A macro setting to test detail and quality of the cameras;
2. A backlit skyline shot.
Next: Nokia World
by Volker Weber
Tomorrow I will head to London for Nokia World. I expect to see Windows phones (plural) and new Swipe designs, taking the Meego interface to more affordable devices. I expect to see Nokia Maps on Windows Phone, in a beautiful body.
Not that I am going to be outside at all, the weather looks rather nice:
BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Smartphone v2.2 now available
by Volker Weber
we are very happy and proud to announce that the latest version 2.2 of the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Smartphones (release notes) is now available for download. Known as the Golf release, this update enables many new features that can be used by developers to build highly functional, and business related capabilities into their BlackBerry WebWorks applications.
Now works on Mac.
Steve Jobs Biography: Let the Backlash Begin
by Volker Weber
An authorized biography of the Apple visionary paints him as a tech genius on one hand—and a vengeful businessman, neglectful father, and insensitive CEO on the other.
You can only do that on a Windows 7 PC
by Volker Weber
Says Microsoft.
We all need warmth
by Volker Weber
A couple of take-aways from BlackBerry Devcon Americas
by Volker Weber
Photo: RIM
In no particular order:
- I have seen some really great demos of cutting edge software at the conference. Games, but also business apps that are not boring. We need new skills: design, story telling, and development. All working together. You cannot expect a developer to write exciting apps.
- PlayBook gives you a glimpse at the future of BlackBerry handhelds. It may not sell well, for multiple reasons. That's partly an execution problem, and partly due to the fact that the software isn't nearly done. But you do need to watch this space. If you have a PlayBook, start developing for it.
- When RIM joins BB and QNX to form BBX, Java ME goes away. It's being replaced by C/C++ native apps. RIM has a great framework from the TAT (The Astonishing Tribe) acquisition. Game engines like Marmalade have been ported. That means, lots of popular games from the likes of EA will run on the platform.
- RIM is embracing HTML5 and Open Source. This transforms them from a closed Java shop to a kick-ass development platform.
- The Bold 9900 is one fantastic device. It does not lie anymore. Metal is metal, glass is glass. Great camera, best keyboard ever, crispy clean display. I was disappointed by the Torch 9800, but this is a killer update for existing Bold users. It won't convince iPhone users to switch, but you definitely need to stay on BlackBerry.
- RIM did not deliver a roadmap. PlayBook 2.0 was neither announced nor put on a schedule. RIM is working on it, but they are not saying when it will ship. No roadmap for BBX either. Disappointing.
- Android Runtime on PlayBook reminds me of WinOS2.
It's The Maps, Stupid
by Volker Weber
Mr. Harold Goddijn, not only does your map suck. Your subsidiary is not even able to fix it. I have been trying to tell you that this is all wrong for four years. I have even gone through your competent PR agency. But you are not getting the message. I have sent you an aireal photo with streets and numbers, but you won't get that. I have tried to correct the map on several devices, but you can't change a street that is mislabeled.
Look it up in Navteq. Look it up on OpenStreetMap. What you think is Elly-Heuss-Knapp-Weg is partly Edith-Stein-Weg. And that means that deliveries cannot find their way to that street. That taxi drivers from neighboring cities can't find it. Fleet management won't find it.
Your processes suck. We have been trying to tell you. Four years. Maybe you get it this time.
And btw: Elly-Heuss-Knapp-Weg is also in that picture. It's not exactly where you think it is. And one can exit Edith-Stein-Weg to the east. This is not a dead end.
Re: BBX
by Volker Weber
RIM says:
"RIM has not yet received a copy of the legal complaint described in Basis International’s press release, but we do not believe the marks are confusing, particularly since our respective companies are in different lines of business."
Insider trades
by Volker Weber
Even if your stock falls like a hammer, you can make a nice healthy cash flow of close to $10k a month. Less than I miscalculated initially though.
Greetings from BB Devcon
by Volker Weber
Calm before the opening session. Attendants are still queuing on the ground floor of Moscone West. Biggest disappointment today: PlayBook 2.0 isn't done. They only have a developer beta with the same app suite. Biggest surprise: RIM is ditching Java ME for their next platform BBX, which joins BlackBerry and QNX. You better build your apps with WebWorks.
Remembering Steve in Palo Alto
by Volker Weber
The great RIM app giveaway
by Volker Weber
WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 17, 2011) - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) announced today that a selection of premium apps worth a total value of more than US $100 will be offered free of charge to subscribers as an expression of appreciation for their patience during the recent service disruptions. The apps will be made available to customers over the coming weeks on BlackBerry App World will continue to be available until December 31, 2011.
Mostly games. The cynic in my says, to entertain you while you are waiting for your messages. But in truth, my BB once again is my mainstay while I am away.
While I am away
by Volker Weber
As I announced a few weeks back, I am traveling a lot these days. And while I am away, publishing here is not as natural as it is when I am at my desk. This doesn't mean that I am silent. You will find me posting quite a few photos on vowe.net/+.
If you see me at one of the events, please stop and say hi. This just happened the other day here in San Francisco. I promise to not creep out. :-)
ITworld: Has IBM kicked OpenOffice.org to the curb?
by Volker Weber
Hey, here's one for you: would somebody explain to me why we're at the point where statements like "OpenOffice.org can't be allowed to die!" are being made?
Rolling in the beats
by Volker Weber
BlackoutBerry
by Volker Weber
RIM says:
"The messaging and browsing delays being experienced by BlackBerry users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina were caused by a core switch failure within RIM’s infrastructure. Although the system is designed to failover to a back-up switch, the failover did not function as previously tested. As a result, a large backlog of data was generated and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience and we will continue to keep you informed."
My BIS BlackBerry seems to be back on the net.
Nokia N9 photos and screenshots
by Volker Weber
On heavy rotation
by Volker Weber
Site news: Share on Google+
by Volker Weber
As a reader of this site, you have been able to share individual posts on both Twitter and Facebook. I have now added another link for Google+:
When you hit this link, you are taken to a page like this:
There you have to click "Share on Google+" and the page expands:
When I find out how to expand the page right from the start, I will fix the link accordingly.
Heribert Prantl: Trojaner fressen Grundrecht auf
by Volker Weber
Spähen, lauschen, infiltrieren: Staatstrojaner verwandeln den privaten PC in eine staatliche Spionageanlage. Eine solche Computerwanze ist ein Hohn auf alles, was das Bundesverfassungsgericht zum Schutz der Privatheit geschrieben hat. Aber selbst das höchste Gericht ist an den Auswüchsen der staatlichen Schnüffelei nicht ganz unschuldig.
Court Order Seeks Email Data of WikiLeaks Volunteer Jacob Appelbaum
by Volker Weber
The U.S. government has obtained a controversial type of secret court order to force Google Inc. and small Internet provider Sonic.net Inc. to turn over information from the email accounts of WikiLeaks volunteer Jacob Appelbaum, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Music Downloads and the Flip Side of Digital Rights Management Protection
by Volker Weber
Via Ars Technica, an interesting paper:
In certain instances, we find that eliminating DRM restrictions can lead to an increase in sales of legal downloads, a decrease in sales of traditional CDs, and a decrease in piracy. This is in stark contrast to the view that removing DRM will unconditionally increase the level of piracy. ... Our analysis also generates several additional counterintuitive results. By removing DRM and making illegal copying easier, the record label can benefit from the intensified competition between pirated music and the download retailer. Furthermore, this suggests that DRM may protect the "traditional businesses," that is, retailers of CDs, more than they protect the download retailer. Finally, we also find that under certain conditions, piracy and label profits can both increase. It is important to note that this positive relationship between piracy and label profits occurs without any network effects in the model. That is, piracy does not contribute directly to consumer utility; instead, it has a positive effect based solely on how it affects prices of the legal products in the market.
Repeat after me: DRM is bad for the customer.
RIM Unveils BlackBerry Tag - Coming Soon to BlackBerry Smartphones
by Volker Weber
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES--(Marketwire - Oct. 10, 2011) - GITEX - During his keynote presentation at the GITEX conference in Dubai, Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) Co-CEO Jim Balsillie today unveiled a new way for BlackBerry smartphone users to connect with one another and share multimedia content.
BlackBerry Tag, which will be incorporated in the next BlackBerry 7 OS update*, will allow users to share contact information, documents, URLs, photos and other multimedia content by simply tapping their BlackBerry smartphones together. BlackBerry Tag will also enable friends to instantly add one another as contacts on BBM (BlackBerry Messenger).
As always I am a bit concerned about interoperability. Will this work between BlackBerrys only? Or can you also tap other NFC-enabled phones?
Fixing the iPhone home button
by Volker Weber
Is your iPhone home button not working as it used to? Try this:
1. Press the power button until the slider appears, then release.
2. Press the home button until the icons appear, then release.
Does this procedure fix your home button?
Wandern. Kuchen essen. Wandern.
by Volker Weber
The mighty N9 finally has landed at vowe's magic flying circus
by Volker Weber
Ever since Nokia annoucned Meego, and that was in February 2010, I was looking forward to a release for the N900, a small computer I liked a lot in 2009. But the plan was to release a new device with Meego, late 2010, early 2011. I met the Nokia chief designer in the summer of 2010, and he was very upbeat about a new interface pattern.
And then everything changed. Elop became CEO of Nokia, and he did a fast about face. The future was going to be Windows Phone at the high end. And still, Nokia did not throw it all away. They made quite a splash with the new interface pattern caller Swipe. And I wanted one.
It arrived yesterday.
I was not let down. And I am writing down my observations on Google+, because everything is so new. I am making mistakes. And I am correcting them. This is going to take a bit. Watch it:
- First light
- First impressions
- Photos (see above)
- NokiaLink where I got it all wrong
- Looking for other places
- NokiaLink where I found the right switch
I just swiped my iPhone 4. Did not react. Then I pressed the menu button. How quaint.
Swapped the old disk back into the ReadyNAS
by Volker Weber
The disk that failed in the ReadyNAS Pro passed all tests with flying colors and SMART+ has logged no errors. My dealer offered to send it to Seagate, but advised they would probably just return it, because it shows no sign of failure.
Yesterday I picked the disk up and put it back in the RAID. Let's hope this was a once off problem.
c't 22/2011: Facebook vs. Google+
by Volker Weber
Mark Zuckerbergs Reaktion auf den Google+-Start ließ nicht lange auf sich warten: Der Facebook-Chef hat seinen Dienst als eine Art digitales Album des gesamten Lebens neu erfunden, das Status-Updates von Anwendungen automatisch entgegennimmt. Google ist noch damit beschäftigt, die eigenen Dienste zu integrieren.
Landscapes
by Volker Weber
Hit the full screen button in the lower right.
[Thanks, Hans]
My iPods were not rendered obsolete
by Volker Weber
The iPod touch 4gen is updated to iOS 5, the iPod nano just got the latest software release, which Apple demoed at the iPhone event. Although both are a year old, they are still like new. I like that.
And the best feature of the new iPhone 4S is ...
by Volker Weber
... it has exactly the same dimensions as the old iPhone 4. All your peripherals, screen mounts, docks, etc. still work. It's all around better, without forcing you to buy additional stuff. You don't even have to get it to impress your friends.
IBM is deprecating the Lotus brand. And that is a good thing.
by Volker Weber
You have seen it happening at Lotusphere 2011. No Lotus signs anywhere. And you have seen it happening in product rebranding. No more Lotus Connections, Lotus Sametime, Lotus Forms. It's now IBM Connections, IBM Sametime, IBM Forms. Yes, technically it was IBM Lotus Connections, but did you ever really say 'Microsoft Office Word'?
The Lotus brand is not an asset. It is a liability. It smells of old. 'Oh, do you really still use that?' IBM tried to change that with the bold 'Lotus Knows' campaign. And it did not work.
Today marks the release of a new product called 'IBM XWork Server'. It's a Lotus Domino server, it's easier to license, but the more important part is the new name. ISVs can sell their solution to customers who do not want to touch Lotus Notes with a long pole. They just sell it on top of an IBM server. IBM good, Lotus not so much.
I suggested to IBM in private conversation (no, not Ed Brill), that they should dump Lotus and Domino from the Notes product ASAP. 'IBM Notes'. Client and server. Make branding as simple as possible and do it swiftly. ASAP was today, with the release of 8.5.3. IBM has used the opportunity with Sametime, but not yet with Notes.
Nobody wants to kill the Lotus brand. Much in the same way that nobody wanted to kill the Lotus Company, when it was acquired by IBM. It took a very long time from 'Lotus, an IBM company' to 'IBM Lotus'. Much like removing a band-aid very very very slowly.
They are still going to call that conference in Orlando 'Lotusphere'. But they are going to attach a 'Social Business' event to it, much like last year. And then they are going to remove the band-aid very very very slowly.
I would suggest to speed this up. Whoever loves Notes, could not care less. And those who don't, do you worry about them? IBM is pushing Connections into Notes accounts (see the 'free' entitlement for Profiles and Files in 8.5.3) and Microsoft account alike. The less it smells of Lotus, the better.
Daimler Case Study
by Volker Weber
As you may know, Daimler AG has decided to dump Lotus Notes for the Microsoft stack. People have been scratching their heads to understand the decision. After all, Daimler is heavily invested in Notes apps that will not be migrated to the Microsoft platform.
Microsoft has promised to publish the case study, and last week, I got several links to the videos. And I am quite disappointed. But see for yourself.
You don't have to install Silverlight, even if Microsoft suggests you should. Just play the WMV files.
LibreOffice Is One
by Volker Weber
Once framed as an impetuous fork, LibreOffice has become the standard-bearer for the former OpenOffice community.
Ein paar Gedanken zu den neuen Kindle-Modellen
by Volker Weber
Alle Welt schaut auf den Kindle Fire, ein 7"-Tablett für knapp 200 Dollar, das zum iPad-Killer hochstilisiert wird. Dabei finde ich den oben abgebildeten Einstiegs-Kindle viel wichtiger. Er kann nichts, was das bestehende Modell nicht besser machen würde. Er hat nur halb so viel Speicher, und er verzichtet auf die Tastatur, die ich noch nie ernsthaft verwendet habe. Er ist kleiner, bei gleicher Bildschirmgröße, dünner als ein Bleistift, aber vor allem: er kostet weniger als 100 Euro. Das ist die Schallgrenze, bei der die Leute zugreifen werden. Und das hat Folgen:
- Wie der iPod die Musikdistribution verändert hat, wird dieses Gerät das Geschäft mit Büchern nachhaltig ändern.
- Repeat after me: DRM is bad for the customer. Das werden die Verlage merken, die noch auf die Adobe Plattform setzen.
- Noch gibt es einen Zoo von Geräten, so wie es mal Dutzende von relevanten MP3-Playern gab. Ich glaube nicht, dass das so bleibt.
- Die Kindles sind keine Gadgets. Sie haben einen konkreten Zweck. Nach neuen Büchern stöbern, kaufen, lesen. Ende. Der Käufer interessiert sich überhaupt nicht für die Specs.
- Einen Kindle muss man erleben, um ihn gut zu finden. Das ist die einzige Bremse.
Amazon hat einen Kanal zur Distribution von Inhalten. Der finanziert die Geräte. Und man kann seine Bücher stressfrei auch auf mehreren Kindles, Smartphones etc lesen und die Lesezeichen gehen mit.
Der Fire ist natürlich ebenfalls ein Rasierer, für den Amazon die Rasierklingen liefert. Und weil es die hier noch nicht in ausreichender Menge gibt, macht es keinen Sinn, den Fire für Deutschland zu subventionieren.
Rhapsody to acquire Napster
by Volker Weber
Rhapsody, one of the oldest Web subscription music services, has made it official. The company has acquired Napster subscribers and other assets from Best Buy, while the electronics retailer will obtain a minority stake in Rhapsody, the companies said today.
I am using Napster on Sonos. Rhapsody is not available in Germany. Let's hope they don't sack Napster here.
